Window A/C unit in the rear door

[86Scotty]

Found it, at 4:30 or so you can see the interior setup and around 12:00 he gets specific and shows the outside. It's actually a pretty neat video from an old school 'Murican if you have time for the whole thing. Not a fancy conversion but some good ideas.

https://youtu.be/U7WSjsw8BnM

[arctictraveller]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

My question is whether this style (sitting on slides inside and sliding out of the hatch to deploy (with foam bulb seal around it) would last any longer, or take less abuse than a rear door mounted style.

I'm not sure if it would or not. With the unit mounted in the back door, behind the axle, it's positioned to receive the maximum amount of movement up and down, since the further from the center of rotation, the larger the distance it moves. Think of a record, the outside edge travels much further than the center with every revolution. If the A/C was mounted closer to the center point of rotation, it should move less. That's taking into account the travel when the front wheels are higher and lower than the back. When the wheels are all moving up and down together with little rotation it's a different story. On my van, I would guess that high speed washboard will kill the A/C no matter where it's located, but others with softer suspension and lower speeds may have different results. Stick to paved roads and it should last many years.

[gcvt]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

I'm not sure if it would or not. With the unit mounted in the back door, behind the axle, it's positioned to receive the maximum amount of movement up and down, since the further from the center of rotation, the larger the distance it moves. Think of a record, the outside edge travels much further than the center with every revolution. If the A/C was mounted closer to the center point of rotation, it should move less. That's taking into account the travel when the front wheels are higher and lower than the back. When the wheels are all moving up and down together with little rotation it's a different story. On my van, I would guess that high speed washboard will kill the A/C no matter where it's located, but others with softer suspension and lower speeds may have different results. Stick to paved roads and it should last many years.

Hey Jeff. We were just talking about your rear door A/C setup last night up at Pipi Valley. Wish you were there.

[larrie]

Saw this setup a couple of weeks ago. Looked pretty stable.

[arctictraveller]

Originally Posted by larrie

Saw this setup a couple of weeks ago. Looked pretty stable

That's pretty much the way the last two I had were mounted. Next spring, I'll probably revise the mounting to provide some sort of shock mitigation I haven't yet figured out, but clearly, a rigid mount shakes them to death. Keeping to the pavement would certainly help though, but that's not happening in my case.

[Flipperfla]

I mounted my air in my back window over 10 years ago and never had a issue. Camping in Florida AC is a must in the summer. Took the origional window out and used it for a template and made a fiberglass blank. Replaced all the AC screws with stainless and thru bolted where possible. Its a Samsung 5500 BTU. I had a custom cover made at a canvas shop. If I ever want to take it out the mounting holes are under where the origional window gasket was.